West Australia will be one of the leading states in IT jobs growth over the next five years with 5.6% per annum workforce growth, above the national predicted increase of 5.4%.
The figures were revealed at the WA launch of the ACS Australia's Digital Pulse 2021 report on Tuesday, attended by special guest the Hon. Kate Doust, MLC, along with ACS branch chair Michelle Sandford and fifty local business and technology leaders.
The positive workforce growth news came after COVID-19 hit the state’s tech workers last year with a 1.4% fall in the sector’s employment in 2020.
Mining and agriculture were among two of the sectors that reduced IT employment last year.
However, 52,084 people currently work in the state’s tech sector, and increased tech employment will help the state’s economy diversify over the first part of this decade.
“West Australia’s technology workforce took a hit in 2020 along with many other sectors, but the state’s IT sector is expected outpace the nation over the next five years,” said ACS President, Ian Oppermann.
“While the mining and agriculture industries will remain the foundations for the West Australian economy over coming years, it is encouraging to see increased technology employment forecast as the state looks to diversify its employment and industries.
“Advances in fields such as workplace automation, artificial intelligence, and smart places will see increased reliance on IT professionals even in those ‘traditional industries’ in coming years, so we expect this year’s decline will be a temporary setback in a longer-term trend.”
